Starlings Cover Campground in 7 Inches of Droppings

Like a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," a massive flock of Starlings are descending on a campground in a seaside resort town in Cornwall, England. To the campground officials' horror, the birds have covered the park in up to seven inches of droppings in some areas.

The bizarre "attack" of tens of thousands of birds at Trevelgue Holiday Park in Newquay came with a startling clean-up bill that has so far totaled nearly $16,000, reports the UK's Daily Mail newspaper.

"The bird droppings are causing a major, major problem. It's acidic and the sheer quantity is phenomenal. The roads on the campsite are absolutely covered and the trees and caravans are lagged," managing director Mike Finnigan tells the news outlet.

Every night, the starlings descend on the park's electric wires, telephone poles and trees to roost at about 5 p.m. Droppings are collecting in such large quantities that the ground below any of these structures appears to look like a gravel path.

Major branches have fallen off of some trees because of the weight of the droppings, but fortunately no buildings on the site are particularly close to the affected trees.

In an attempt to solve the problem before the campground opens in April, the park has employed a bird scarer who will try to force the birds to move on.

"The starlings flocking are a wonderful force of nature. The flying formations are magnificent but like everything, every action has a reaction. Unfortunately there are some health hazards associated with that," says Finnigan.